


veritas nunquam perit

by BrightlyPhoenix



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Light Angst, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-02-27 17:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18743455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightlyPhoenix/pseuds/BrightlyPhoenix
Summary: "It's one thing to temporarily leave this family but to try and leave it permanently?! Without even saying goodbye?!"---Or the AU where the rest of the paladins (along with Allura and Coran) find out what happened with Keith and the forcefield.





	veritas nunquam perit

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So as I basically binge-watched Voltron a few weeks ago, it irked me how they had Keith LITERALLY sacrifice himself... but they never touched up on it afterward. So with that in mind, I present you the AU where they do find out and they talk to Keith about it.

"Hey, I... I think there's something we gotta talk about."

"Sure, Matt! What's up?" Pidge noticed the conflicted expression on his face as soon as she turned around. Her eyes scanned from the top of his hairs to the heels of his shoes, pinpointing any of his tells. Sure enough, there they were. Furrowed eyebrows. Scrunched up nose. His index finger pressing on his thumb. The biggest giveaway yet: He didn't make eye contact. Just gazed off to the side of her. "You seem nervous. Everything alright?" She placed her tablet to the side and her eyes also became filled with fret. 

"Uh..." Matt shifted his stare to somewhere else but Pidge. He inhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes before meeting his sister's gaze he had grown to love. "It's about Keith."

 _Keith_? What did her brother have to say about Keith of all people? Not that he was bad or anything but- the two weren't really friends... as far as she knew at the least. "Keith? What about him?"

Finally letting out the bad news, Matt sighed and his frown became more apparent with his features. "Do you remember the fight on Naxzela?"

Pidge's worried look dropped but became filled with confusion. Her eyes squinting just even more. Matt would've commented on how much she looked like her father but now was not the time. "Yes?"

Taking one last deep breath, Matt was going to say it all. "Right before Lotor showed up and saved the day," he cringed at memory, still breathing in the fact if it weren't for Lotor, the Blade would've died, "Keith- we realized that no matter how many blasters we shot at the forcefield, it was no use. Keith realized this and already had a solution..." Matt could do this. "He thought that if his ship punctured the barrier, everyone would be saved." Pidge's gasp made Matt want to pause but he continued. "So... he dived head on to the forcefield. I told him to stop... but he didn't listen. Thankfully, Lotor used his laser to puncture the forcefield sooner to give Keith enough time to flee. But... yeah."

Pidge really wanted to slap Keith right now.

 

* * *

  

"Dinner is wonderful! Thank you, Coran!" Hunk smiled blissfully as he continued gulping down the Altean version of stew in his bowl.

Coran twirled his mustache while he beamed. "It's not a problem, young lad! Quite easy, I may have to show you in the fu-"

"KEITH!"

All eyes from the table including Keith's lilac eyes turned towards the Green Paladin who stood at the kitchen entrance fuming white hot smoke, while Matt stood behind her with a frown.

After a few seconds of pure and raw silence, Shiro stood up from the table and calmly walked over to the distressed paladin. "What is it, Pidge?" 

The girl grumbled, shaking her head, and stormed off to Keith who had shown the most fear ever since he boarded the castle. She shoved her index finger at his chest and glared daggers at him. "You idiot!"

"Pidge, I think we should all calm down and talk this out peacefully." Allura put her hands out and along with Shiro, she walked over to the two paladins. 

Pidge shook her head again and focused her gaze back to Keith. "It's one thing to temporarily leave this family but to try and leave it permanently?! Without even saying goodbye?!" Keith's features all showed the realization of what she was talking about. Clenching his jaw tighter, he turned his face away from Pidge. 

Hunk started fiddling with his fingers as he switched his view from the Blade to the Green Paladin. "Uh... Keith?" The Yellow Paladin added a light chuckle to his words, albeit out of anxiety. "What is she talking about?"

"Nothing," Keith replied quietly.

All eyes shifted to Pidge as they all assumed she was going to tell. And she did. "Remember on Naxzela where Haggar had her forcefield?" Everyone at the table (except Keith who still stared off to the side) nodded slightly. "The coalition along with Keith was trying to destroy the forcefield. They realized that their blasters couldn't do anything so Keith over here decides that sacrificing himself while in the ship to puncture the forcefield is the best way to go about it. If it weren't for Lotor, he would've been dead."

All eyes on Keith now. Gasps could be heard. Mumbles of the Blade's name were said, mainly in confusion. Shiro, who didn't mutter Keith's name or gasp or show any sign of him reacting except his furrowed eyebrows, walked up to Blade. "Is this true, Keith?" Keith gave a short nod and the whole room went still. 

Pidge huffed and continued to lecture Keith. "Why did you do it?! You could've died!"

The Blade finally faced Pidge, glaring back even harder. "We couldn't do anything to break the barrier! I knew I could've died! That's the whole thing about being a paladin of Voltron! You put yourself out front to make sure the universe is safe and so that's what I did!" The silence in the air was deafening as it was suffocating to Keith. It was filled with pure tension as no one else knew what to say.

A few ticks passed and Keith glared at Matt. "Why did you tell her?" His words and tone implied it was more of a demand and less of a question cause  _God!_ Why  _did_ Matt tell her?! Keith was alive. He was here and breathing. It didn't matter because Lotor saved him from sacrificing himself. It wasn't the rest of the team's business. To know Keith did attempt to hurl himself at the barrier in hopes of saving a  _literal_ planet. 

If it came down to it, Keith would do it again. Even after all the gasps he heard that came from his teammates. Even after some of them mumbled his name as if his ship did actually collide with the forcefield, depressed yet confused, along with a hint of shock. Even if Pidge kept calling him an idiot. It didn't matter who he was. When Keith signed up to be a paladin, he knew at that moment the universe came before him, including his life. 

Matt looked down at the ground shamefully, scratching at the back of his neck. "It... it wasn't fair to them that they didn't know." 

Keith clenched his fists and a low growl hummed in the back of his throat. "But I'm still here! Nothing happened and now I'm going to go." The Blade took a few steps towards the exit before Shiro all but stood in front of him, raising a curious eyebrow and crossing his arms. "Let me go, Shiro." The leader shook his head and the silence came back. Until Keith heard the faintest voice come from behind him.

"...Do you not care about yourself?"

Keith turned around and faced the source of the voice. Eyes widening when he saw who it was.

 _Lance_?

Why did he care? Weren't they supposed to be rivals  _according_ to Lance himself? Sure they had their moments and the two would get along but  _this_? This was a side of Lance that Keith hadn't seen. The Blue Paladin looked as if the mullet boy that Lance teased at every moment had slapped him. He looked hurt. Vulnerable. Emotional. Confused. Saddened. Disappointed. Keith never saw this side of Lance before and the former wasn't sure if it should scare him.

The question, along with the tone in it mimicking his features, had caught Keith even more off guard.  _'Do you not care about yourself'_ the words has echoed repeatedly in his head. Keith hesitated. Of course he cared about himself- but not as much as he should. He was so willing to go straight through Hagger's enchanted barrier. He remembered the slight pause that occurred before he flew towards the forcefield. He really  _did_ try to sacrifice himself and all it took was Lance's pity-filled eyes and his upset tone to come to the realization. He would've chuckled had it not been for the tension rising within the kitchen.

Seeing as Keith, busy in thought, had not responded (even though his silence clearly said enough), Pidge took the initiative to add to Lance's words. "Because right now, it seems like you don't. That's a problem because  _we_ care about you." The small paladin gulped and dropped her angered expression, replacing it with the same expression Lance held. Furrowed eyebrows. A frown. Hunched over. "Keith... you're a brother to me. You're  _family._ I can't lose you." 

Did... did she call Keith her  _brother_?

Family. That's what she described him as. It was such a farfetched idea that Keith didn't notice that the people surrounding him- were technically his family.

The shock of the realization wasn't well hidden as Pidge stifled a giggle. "Yes, you are part of this family whether you like it or not. That's why I don't like it when you play hero and think it's okay to sacrifice yourself."

Now it was Shiro's turn to speak. He placed his non-prosthetic arm on Keith's shoulder and squeezed lightly. Feeling how he relaxed into the touch. "I know you think that it's your job to save the world and you think that your life is only a number- that you won't matter because as long as you died defending the universe, everything is all good but that's not how it works, buddy." Keith looked away, shamefulness filling his features. It only made everyone _desperate_ to tell the Blade how much they all cared about him. "Hey, Keith? Look at me." Falling into Shiro's soothing voice, he shifted his gaze towards his. Keith noticed how there was a small yet genuine small tugging at his lips and the Blade believed it. "You are more than just a hero. Don't ever think otherwise. Besides," Shiro shrugged, "there was probably another way to destroy the forcefield than using your ship. You also didn't know if your ship coming into contact with the forcefield would've done anything at all and then your sacrifice wouldn't have done anything. All of us are thankful you're here."

"Adding on to what everyone else said-" Hunk adjusted himself so he was close to Shiro (who had dropped his hand), desperately wanting to make eye contact with the Blade "-you're just uh really cool dude." Pidge jabbed him in the ribs, to which Hunk muttered "ow" and continued on. "And we would really miss you if you left us without saying goodbye. Wait- scratch that-" Hunk shook his head before continuing, "-we would still miss you even if you said goodbye."

Coran twirled his mustache in thought, eyes closed, while slowly walking in front of the Blade. When Hunk moved, it was the Altean's cue to speak. Letting go of his mustache, Coran said, "My boy, we all care about you very much. Why don't ya' play hero for yourself and remember to know you are far more than just 'Keith: A Paladin of Voltron'." 

Lance finally felt at ease with all the support towards Keith and his once frown turned into a blissful yet soft smile. "I said this once and I'm going to say it again, if you left, who am I going to make fun of? Seriously! When you were off with the Blade of Macklemore-"

"-Marmora," Pidge muttered.

"-whatever! It was pretty quiznacking boring!" Lance started acting more like himself to uplift the mood and attempt to bring some normalcy. He used over the top hand gestures, obnoxious facial expressions, and added exaggeration at its' finest- and it paid off. The former Blue Paladin could see a hint of a smile tugging at Keith's lips. It just encouraged Lance to keep going. "I tried poking fun at Pidge but she glared at me," he leaned in closer to Keith and whispered, "and her glares are scarier than yours." 

Allura smiled from afar and decided she'd be the one to wrap up their comfort session for Keith. "I suppose that if I just repeat what everyone else said, it won't mean much but alas, everyone's words here are true. You're important to the team, Keith. Even if you're on a mission with the Blades, you're still apart of this family as Pidge had said. We all care about you so very much." 

Hunk, playing with hands, looked at both Allura and Keith before continuing. "So do you know what this means?" The rest of the group, except the Blade, glanced around with smirks apparent on their features.

Keith glanced around suspiciously, narrowing his glance at everyone. "What?"

"Group hug time!" Hunk yelled.

All except one came lunging at Keith and wrapped their arms around him. At that moment, the Blade felt contentment rise within him and let the most genuine smile grace his lips. He closed his eyes before noticing  _someone_ was missing. Eyeing the room, he noticed Matt staring awkwardly at the ground and scratching the back of his neck. "Get in here, Matt. It's not really a group hug if one person from the group is missing."

To which Matt lifted his gaze from the cold floor to where all the warmth was flooding in the room. His lips formed a smile as he ran to join everyone in the hug.

Keith simply closed his eyes again and knew he was going to be okay.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Awwww, would ya' look at that :') makes me happy with all the fluff... but then again as the writer, I get to play god! *cue evil laughter* >:) Also don't ask about Lotor. He's... he's somewhere!
> 
> Anywho... as this is my first work on here as BrightlyPhoenix I'll go over a few things and what to expect here!
> 
> 1\. I'll most likely write Voltron fics as well as PJO fics (mainly Jasico and Pipeyna) since those are the two things I love dearly
> 
> 2\. Expect a multi-chaptered Jasico fanfic coming up shortly, in fact, I wrote this fic cause I was having serious writer's block about that fic and I just needed to write but didn't know /what/ to write so now we're here with a one-shot!
> 
> 3\. The title, if you haven't googled it, means "the truth never perishes" which is basically what this fic is and also I chose to do it Latin cause as a Latin student, anything written in Latin has POWER. You could say "capilium erepa" and people think you're summoning Satan but in reality- you're just saying "wig snatched". 
> 
> 4\. Please leave a review! It doesn't have to be a whole essay but maybe list what you liked, didn't like, what I can improve on (and how I can because simply saying "your grammar is awful" when I only have a few typos does not help) and the whole shebang! 
> 
> 5\. Want to send me stuff or simply get to know me better? My Tumblr is @brightlyphoenix and I'm pretty active on there. I post Voltron, PJO, and a bit of everything else :)
> 
> That's it! Just call me Phoenix!
> 
> \- Phoenix


End file.
